Browsing: Career Information

I’d like to talk to just the children for a minute, ok? Are all the adults gone? It’s just us? Good. Now children, is your mom a federal employee? Is she a darn good one? The Harris Federal Law Firm invites children 12 and under to submit a video of about 30 seconds explaining why their mom is a “federal hero.” The videos have to be uploaded by April 24. People can then vote on their favorites. The mom who is the subject of the video with the most votes will win a $1,000 Amazon gift card, while two runners-up…

Federal agencies may have a tough time holding on to their program managers come 2017. A new Government Accountability Office report ranked program management as the occupational category with the highest percentage of employees eligible to retire by 2017. For mid-sized agencies like the General Services Administration, Housing and Urban Development Department and Office of Personnel Management, 56 percent of employees involved in program management will be eligible to retire in the next three years, the report found. At larger agencies that number is nearly 44 percent. As more employees become eligible to retire, GAO noted that occupations like program management…

Veterans Affairs Department employees have had access to one of the government’s best career-development tools since October. Soon, you may see something like it coming to your agency. Last week, top VA officials demonstrated the tool — called MyCareer@VA — at a meeting of administration and union leaders. “When you think about your own career, there are times that you want to figure out how to get ahead, but there are also times that you may feel like you’re stuck and want to do something else,” said VA Deputy Secretary Scott Gould as he presented the website July 18 to…

OK, readers:Â You’re about to head out to an important meeting with agency brass, wearing your finest business suit, when you realize your dress shoes are all scuffed up — and you’re fresh out of shoe polish.Â What’s an executive to do? Two words: banana peels. No, we’re not smokin’ them. Apparently, the oils and potassium found naturally in banana skins can give shoes a military spit shineÂ in a fraction of the time — and it’s environmentally friendly, to boot! Our newest favorite website, VideoJug, gives step-by-step instructions in hilarious detail. We’ve posted the tutorial below for your Friday viewing pleasure.…

We noted earlier today that President Barack Obama wasted no time in laying out a series of executive orders designed to set the tone for an open, transparent government that is responsive to the American public. Part of that effort comes in the form of an ethics pledge that every political appointee will have to sign. The pledge applies to all appointees brought on board after Jan. 20 — including every non-career appointee to the Senior Executive Service or equivalent systems, policymaking and confidential jobs under Schedule C, and all other noncareer slots filled by the president or vice president.…

The widely anticipated pay raises for 2009 were just released this morning. In an executive order, President George W. Bush outlined how various pay schedules will be impacted by the 3.9 percent overall pay raise that Congress enacted. Also, the Office of Personnel Management released the new 2009 pay tables for the various localities. Among the highlights: Basic pay under the General Schedule will go up 2.9 percent. The remainder of the 3.9 percent overall pay raise enacted by Congress will go toward locality raises. Among the 30-plus locality pay zones, employees in the Washington D.C.-Baltimore-Northern Virginia region will see…

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer announced yesterday he believes President-elect Barack Obama may support a four-day work week for federal employees. Such an idea has been bounced around for months, and some agencies already allow employees to telework or adjust their schedules to allow for an extra day off a week. So, readers, would you welcome a 10-hour, four-day work week? Reactions I’ve received via e-mail are mixed. Some say they’d work harder in exchange for a three-day weekend every week, while others said the alternate work schedule would ease traffic in the Washington, D.C. area. Others criticized the proposal,…

Looking for a job in the Obama administration? Then you should check out the Plum Book, the federal directory of leadership jobs released after every presidential election. The book was released today and contains more than 7,000 federal civil service leadership and support job descriptions in the legislative and executive branches. Of course, there’s no guarantee that all of the jobs will be filled when Obama takes office. It does, however, give you a look at the scope of opportunities available for you in certain sectors of the federal government (and could even help you get that ol’ resume ready!)…